Strength of Heart
by AbhorsenSabriel87
Summary: When the Yu Yu Hakusho cast endures a devistating accident [attack?], they survive, but at what cost? Watch the team search for the strength inside their own hearts and souls to live on and continue with their lives. YusxKei, KuwxYuk, HiexOc, KurxOc
1. Beginning of the End

AbhorsenSabriel87: Hey readers! I know I haven't updated or written anything in a while... but I have good reasons for that!

Teresa: She was busy...

Sabriel: Yup.

Teresa: ...And off-line

Sabriel: Yup yup.

Teresa: And lazy.

Sabriel: Yup... Hey! Shut up Terri!

Teresa: --rolls eyes-- It's true.

Sabriel: Grr. Everyone, meet one of my best friends, Teresa.

Teresa: Yo.

Sabriel: She's the one who gave me the idea for this fic and we're going to write it together without my other muse's knowledge!

Teresa: Yeah, or else they would kill us... _literally _in Kurama and Hiei's cases.

Sabriel: Sha. Yusuke and Kazuma would only beat us to a bloody pulp.

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- That's kind.

Sabriel: Hey, it's true. Anywho, there are two new OC's in this fic, as with most of my co-author fics, and it's an angsty fic so beware.

Teresa: ... I'm not sure "angsty" is a word Sabs.

Sabriel: Whose side are you on! Anyway, our legal disclaimer, drawn up by about three dozen lawyers, states that neither of us poor little otakus own any piece in part of _Yu Yu Hakusho _or any related incendia, any Shakespearean play I choose to use or reference, the Camero, or pretty much anything else that has been copywrited in the past seven billion years.

Teresa: That's the most you've said in one sentence this whole AN Section.

Sabriel: Disclaimers usually are. Now...

Both: Onto the fic!

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---"You intend to do what?" A century-gothic style courtroom lay quiet, it's dark halls chilled by the voice that had so recently spoken. Seven judges lined the head of the room, two guards stood at every door, a few of them not even seeming human, but they all knew it wouldn't be enough if the owner of the chilling voice did not wish to cooperate with them. The owner of the voice stood in the center of the floor, flanked by three magicians on either side behind him as a precaution for the judges. The speaker himself stood barely five feet tall, but his icy tone and fiery gaze as well as his own dark and dangerous appearance marked him as one not to be messed with or angered. He stood with his feet together and his back straight, well-toned arms crossed over an equally sculpted chest as he glared vehemently at the seven judges before him. A black cloak flowed easily from his shoulders to his ankles, and a black silver-lined tunic covered his miniature frame well, giving him a regal yet lethal aura. "I demand an explanation," his alto voice stated coldly, his garnet eyes flicking to each judge in turn until they finally settled on the center judge.

---This judge seemed relatively human, the only thing betraying his god heritage being his slightly elfin-like ears, and he stood and met the demon lord's glare with a calm and commanding look in his own in his chocolate brown eyes. "As much as you have helped us Hiei," he stated in his tenor voice, showing how young he really was, "we of the Underworld Council believe that you are still a grave danger to Ningenkai and all humans in general. We cannot allow you to return to Makai until your sentence has been fulfilled, so we have decided to make sure that you are no threat to the Human World while you serve your probationary period." The young judge seemed only about twenty or so with short brown hair shadowing his eyes of the same shade, but he seemed to be the head judge by his position and the commanding presence he held. Robes of pure blue and red rested easily on his tall and slender frame, fitting well, but hiding his true nervousness well. The other godly and demonic judges murmured their agreement to this verdict until the demon on the floor set his deathly glare on them, bringing silence once more to the courtroom.

---"You doubt my abilities to not only keep myself invisible to mortals," he hissed, glaring once more at the center judge, "but you doubt my self-control to keep myself from harming or killing them? I thought you knew me better than that Koenma."

---"I know you well enough Hiei," the young god stated sternly. "That's one of the reasons it's so hard for me to do this. But as a precaution that is well argued for, it must be done." At the judge's last word, the magicians closest to the dark haired demon spoke in dark tongues and blasted the rouge in the back with orbs of white energy before he could react. The first orb knocked the demon to the ground onto his left knee while the second paralyzed him and kept him from drawing the sword at his hip in his defense. He managed to look up into Koenma's eyes, and the judge nearly stepped back at the renewed look of icy fury in the crimson eyes.

_---Damn you_ was the strained telepathic message Koenma received right before the next two magicians mercilessly shattered the magical barriers that had attempted to form around the demon. The two remaining magicians began chanting as well, making the youkai shake slightly and lower his rage-filled eyes to the ground as he felt his demonic energy being drained near completely. After two minutes that felt like two humiliating lifetimes to the little youkai, the spells slowly retracted, allowing him to relax minimally. Hiei drew in a few silent but shaking breaths before he slowly drew up his brilliant eyes to the judges again. Koenma himself felt ravenously guilty and afraid of him at that moment, seeing more emotion than he ever had from the small youkai at that moment, and none of the emotions that he would have asked to see come from him; anger, betrayal, condemnation, complete distrust... He expected Hiei to strike him down that instant as the rouge rose to his feet, his cloak falling silently behind him, but no strike ever came, only words harsher than an Antarctic storm to match the Hell flame fury etched in his garnet eyes. "What _exactly_ did your magicians just do?" The judge steadied himself before responding evenly.

---"Your Jagan is shielded as well as its capabilities reduced. Your natural immunity to heat remains as well as limited portions of your demonic healing, but the ability to conjure your flames and the Kokuryuuha are gone. Your speed and strength have been reduced to a better than human level, but nowhere near your prior limitations." The crimson eyes regarded his for a moment longer, then without another word, Hiei turned and left, the only sound upon his departure being his cloak snapping behind him as he turned away. Even after he left, a fiery chill hung in the air, causing uneasiness for a few moments. Gradually, the atmosphere relaxed and Koenma dismissed the magicians with a wave of his hand, slumping back down in his chair in a very tired and almost pained manner. One of the judges, a young looking woman more beautiful than humanely possible with fire-red hair and warm lava-like eyes, turned to him with an unsure look upon her face. Her voice, although still holding power and a hint of seductiveness natural to her race, spoke quietly with slight fear, "You do realize, my lord, that we have very little chance of awaking the morning after this is over with our heads, or lives at all for that matter?"

---Koenma sighed, massaging his temples as he responded slowly and directly, "Yes Tanar'ri, I do. Hopefully, that day won't come until we figure out what to do _when_ that day rolls around."

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---"Hiei, what is the matter? You've been rather moody lately." The fire apparition glanced at the speaker, then resumed his prior task of glaring at the city of Tokyo from a high branch of an old gingko tree in front of the second story window of a small house on the northern side of the city park. "I'm always moody," he replied softly. "Today is no different." A low chuckle came from inside the room he stationed himself outside and the calm and soothing baritone voice spoke again, "I meant more moody than usual. Something is troubling you, I can tell. Don't even try to convince me otherwise; I know you far too well." Hiei looked over at the speaker once more, giving him a mild glare.

---"It is none of your concern Kurama," he said deliberately. The speaker sported bright red (and rather thick and messy) hair and equally bright emerald green eyes in a youthful face. He appeared, much like the fire demon outside his window, hardly over the age of seventeen, but his eyes glinted with wisdom well beyond his apparent years. His slender frame removed itself from his chair by the door of the room and maneuvered gracefully over various plants and vines that snaked all over the room and settled on the windowsill next to Hiei. "It _is_ my concern Hiei," he said calmly. "I consider you a dear friend of mine and I wish to aid you in any way I can."

---"Unless you can overrule a unanimous sentence made by the Underworld Council, you cannot do anything, fox." The redhead frowned slightly at his companion, concern and confusion written on his handsome features. "Has the Council extended your sentence?" he asked gravely. "Neither you nor I have done anything illegal by any standards since we were tried... well, outside of our missions, of course. What basis would they have to do so anyway?"

---"They did not extend my sentence," the other muttered, looking at his bound right hand in mild interest. The familiar bandages still tingled his arm with the dormant wards keeping his spellbound and -made power at bay, but there was no true reason for them to remain. They only provided the fire demon with minimal comfort that his stolen power would be returned to him eventually. "However," he added as an afterthought, "they did harshen my punishment." He snapped his fingers, causing the other boy to start slightly, but when only a soft whiff of smoke reached the redhead's nose, he frowned and leaned forward curiously. "They took your youkai abilities?" he asked, a puzzled and perplexed look on his face. "I wouldn't have thought that they would stoop so low."

---"Well, they did," Hiei replied, dropping his hand back into his lap and leaning back against the tree as he shifted his gaze back to the city again. His right leg was propped up on the branch he sat upon, his left ankle resting underneath against his thigh. His left hand sat lightly on his left knee, and behind his mask of moody apathy, a twinge of sorrow passed through his eyes, quickly replaced by anger and loathing. "It's no problem of mine though; Koenma told me that they would be returned when my sentence is up or I have proved myself in no way harmful to the human race."

---When the door to the room opened, both boys snapped their heads around, Kurama reaching into his hair for some unknown object, Hiei sitting up and dropping his left hand into his cloak to grab a small throwing dagger in the lining. When a dark-haired woman in her late thirties or early forties appeared in the doorway, both boys relaxed visibly as Kurama dropped his hand into his lap and Hiei replaced the dagger once more in his cloak. The woman smiled softly at the young men and walked into the room with a tray of tea as the red-head spoke in a soft and lilting language to the plants, asking them to move out of her way. The various vines and exotic foliage complied almost immediately as she walked across the room and set the tray down on the desk upon which Kurama had seated himself. "Konnichi wa Hiei-kun," she said softly, her voice as kind and sweet and her appearance. "I thought I heard you boys talking up here."

---"Konnichi wa Minamino-san," Hiei replied, bowing his head slightly as she wrapped her arms around his companion's shoulders. The woman's smile grew only softer as she hugged the emerald-eyed young man and chuckled quietly. "Only Shiori, Hiei," she replied quietly. "I do not need as much respect as you give me."

_---Quite the contrary_ the demon thought, attempting (and failing) to suppress the slight smile forming on his child-like face. _You deserve far more._ "Perhaps that is so," he sighed, "but I am not one to change quickly, so you may not be hearing the last of the formalities yet." Both mother and son chuckled at this comment and a slight pang of envy yet compassion beat in Hiei's heart. Hiei himself (as many of you readers undoubtedly know) never knew his mother, well or otherwise, as he had been exiled almost immediately after birth from his mother's wintry home. In all truth, he _was_ slightly jealous of his best friend for having such a compassionate woman in his life daily, but he neither expressed this feeling nor acknowledged its existence. Although she was Suiichi's mother by blood, Shiori had always treated Hiei as she did Kurama; with warmth and kindness that only a mother can possibly show.

---"I heard you boys talking and decided to poke my nosy mother's instinct where it doesn't belong," Shiori continued humorously. "When I came in, you both seemed rather tense. It's not another mission from the little godchild, is it?" Now readers, you may be wondering (if you follow the _Yu Yu Hakusho _series) how Shiori Minamino, a normal human woman, knows about what Kurama and Hiei do for the Underworld Police (while those of you who do not have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about). For those of you who have just happened upon this story by pure chance and have decided to read it based upon the summary (as well as having no particular knowledge of this series before), I shall humor you with a _very_ brief explanation.

---Kurama was originally a youkai thief by the name of Yoko Kurama. In all truth, he was so good, he was the proclaimed King of Thieves within the Thief's Guild of Makai, or the Demonic Plane. He managed to do quite well for himself until he made a slight error and was near fatally wounded by a bounty hunter. En route for an escape, he fled to Ningenkai (the Human Realm) and possessed a soulless embryo, thereby saving himself and being "reborn" as Suiichi Minamino, minus his demonic powers. He stayed within his human body and limits for nearly fourteen years without incident until he met Hiei. By this time, his powers had returned in full but he felt obligated to remain with the woman who had given him "second-life", as he had grown quite attached to her. Kurama helped Hiei find out some information about an Ice Koorime by the name of Yukina from a demon (whom the two of them killed) and Hiei in turn helped Kurama save a good friend of his. After this incident, the two parted ways for almost a year until the day the two of them (along with a demon named Gouki) stole three valuable treasures, each with their own interests in mind. They were eventually found and captured by the Underworld Police (minus Gouki who was killed by an Underworld Detective) and given a speedy trial that placed the two not only on probation for their crime but forced them to assist the Underworld Detective that apprehended them.

---I must now thank you for being patient for my rambling explanation those of you who know this already and shall admit to you that it is close to being over. Now being two years later, Kurama's human body has reached the age of seventeen and he has nearly died in service of the Underworld Judge (aka Koenma) many times. Worried not only for his mother but for his own soul, he confessed to his mother everything about his work now and what he could remember about his life before his "rebirth", even though he knew that there was a very good chance that Shiori could never forgive him for said atrocities. Much to his surprise and relief, she accepted rather than outcasted him and the two have never been tighter. These acts not only impressed Hiei, who had lost nearly all his faith in humanity quite a long time ago, but boosted his respect and loyalty for the two. Thank you for humoring me, and now I shall return to the actual story here in the present...

---Hiei shook his head at the woman and replied, "We have no new missions as of yet." He paused before adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Although I wouldn't doubt that we'd have another quite soon that Yusuke and Kazuma could handle by themselves in which-"

---"'We are only there to baby-sit and make sure the humans don't get killed'," Kurama and Shiori recited in unison with the fire demon, both having heard this complaint many times before and knowing it by heart. Quiet laughter came from all of them at the inside joke and Shiori brought up the conversation again. "Speaking of those two," she said, "I have extended them an invitation to a night out and would be delighted if you came as well." Hiei gave her an obviously startled look and tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Surely you jest, Mrs. Minamino," he replied. "I dare not intrude."

---"What made you think that you would be intruding old friend?" Kurama asked, smiling cheerily. "We would have sent you a written invitation, but alas we have no idea of your whereabouts or home address so we could not." Hiei looked over at his friend in a rather unamused fashion and countered, "That is for very good reason, fox."

---"Oh?" Hiei smirked and replied quite casually and almost mockingly, "Yes, and you have just given the immediately correct reason; I am not one for social appearances." Shiori laughed as her son sat stunned and smiled at Hiei earnestly. "'Tis only a play and dinner, Hiei," she said kindly. "Surely you can last that long among friends." Hiei gave a melodramatic sigh and shrug. "All right, I'll accept," he admitted, sounding defeated. "What play are we going to attend?"

---"Why does it matter?" Kurama asked, glad that his best friend would be joining him in this outing. Hiei shrugged and replied aloofly, "It doesn't. I just wanted to know if I was going to need to wake up Yusuke and Kazuma halfway through it." Another round of laughter echoed in the room as the three delighted in the fire demon's newly found (and rarely shown) talent for humor. Unfortunately, that night could never be what the expected, nor what they could ever have dreamed of in their darkest nightmares.

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---"Break time!" The call ran through the nurse's station cheerfully as one of the many analog clocks struck 11:30. Two nurses looked at each other, grinning broadly. The two only looked about eighteen or so and seemed to be best of friends as they made their way down to the hospital lunchroom even though it seemed like they couldn't have been any different. One of the girls stood around 5' 10" and had platinum blonde hair pulled back with a black leather thong at the nape of her neck. Under the hospital apron she wore a black shirt with violet writing across the back in Japanese _kanji_, black jeans, and black mech boots. Her eyes, a startling gold, glittered with laughter and mischief yet to be shown. Her friend, on the other hand, stood almost a half of a foot shorter and had beautiful copper curls reaching her waist and tied back with a sapphire blue ribbon the exact shade of her kind and serene eyes. The outfit she wore was a stark opposite of her friend's; a white skirt covering white flats and a loose sleeved white blouse.

---"About time, huh?" the dark haired one said, sarcasm dripping over her American accent. "I mean, we've been working for almost twelve hours. They _should_ have let us off earlier." The other sighed and shook her head, picking up a Caesar salad from the lunch line. "We're not here just to chill out, you know," she replied, her own accent also American but with a slight twist of Japanese due to her ability to adapt to her environments. "We're here on student and work visa's, so deal with it, okay kitsune?" The other girl gave her shorter companion an unamused look as they reached the outer doors. "Don't call me that Seraphina," she half-whined. "You're the only one who's known since I was four. I really don't think it'd be good for me or my reputation if word got out I was an honest-to-Enma yoko."

---"You mean 'you or your perfectly tarnished political activist rep', Teresa," the other countered playfully as she sat down on the front steps to eat her salad. The kitsune growled something in a darker tongue before sitting moodily next to her friend. "That's not funny, Serri," she growled, looking off at the waning quarter moon above them.

---"Yes it is," Seraphina countered in between bites. "I know your secret and you know mine. But our blood doesn't make a difference to our friendship, right fox?" Teresa glared at her companion before giving her a wry smirk. "Right," she replied casually. "Plus, I'm the _only _one now who knows about you Serri. I mean," she continued mischievously, "who else would have any clue that you're half-" An alarm within the hospital as well as emergency lights upon the outer walls went off, cutting off the two girl's conversation. More nurses ran outside to greet the three ambulances speeding in as the girls stood and ran to the ER, pulling on their uniforms as they went. As they ran to the unloading area, they both heard quite clearly the conversation between the head surgeon and the paramedics.

---"How many are there?" the doctor asked, helping the paramedic unload the first bloodied-up victim onto a cart. The medic shook his head. "Five," he replied gravely. "But if they don't get operated on soon, we'll have nothing but five corpses." The surgeon nodded and helped the other medics get the victims into the hospital as nurses carted away the first two past the girls. Seraphina gasped as they went by and Teresa froze in place, her delicate nose twitching slightly. "Those two..." Seraphina breathed heavily, gazing at the sheet-covered youngsters. One of the carts accidentally received a slight kick from one of the nurses wheeling it and a sharp cry of pain came from the occupant as a tightly bound right hand dropped to the side. The voice was screaming something in another language unknown to any humans within the area.

---"He's... speaking Demonic," Teresa muttered as two more occupied carts passed them, both of these also carrying young men. "But I can't understand it... I don't know that region..." Teresa turned to her copper-haired companion, who seemed on the brink of tears. "Let's hurry and get to where we can be of use," she said sharply, pulling the other after her as the final victim was loaded onto another cart. They managed to miss the doctor's conversation with the paramedic as the final occupant was wheeled from the ambulance. The doctor stared in shock at the woman on the cart and looked up at the paramedic, who shook his head. "Sorry Doc," he said softly. "She didn't last the ride. Nuthin' we could do." The doctor nodded in shock and stared down at the corpse, unbelieving of what he was seeing. The paramedic looked at him cautiously, then asked, "Sir? You all right Doc?"

---The doctor nodded again and sighed. "I never thought I'd see her in my ward again," he said quietly, placing a hand to his face, "especially not dead. She was a patient of mine about two years ago that was miraculously cured." He gazed down at the body again with regret as an orderly covered her lifeless face with a white sheet and carted her down the hall. "She had her son with her all the time then.

---"I only hope that he can withstand the news."

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Teresa: That ended on a weird note...

Sabriel: It's called a "cliffhanger", and I use them all the time, thankyouverymuch.

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- I _know_ what a cliffhanger is, but I thought we were going to start with the other thing first.

Sabriel: --shrugs-- We'll let the reviewers say what they like and hate about this fic. Besides, I kinda wanna do a flashback scene in the next chapter.

Teresa: ...

Sabriel: What? They're cliched, but they're really fun! --V-sign and cool pose-- (Note: "cool" is a relative term here at Otaku Inc. We do not presume our otakus to be cool or even up-to-date. In fact, many are still wearing bell-bottoms and ty-dye bandanas and corsets and the few with children at all still name them Mildred, Sunshine, Edwina, Moonbeam, and various other old-fashioned and frankly out-of-date names. Please also note that any offended by this AN Sectional should review and complain. To those offended, we are sorry and will listen to all your complaints carefully. However, please note that most of us really don't care. We're sorry. Thank you.)

Teresa: Whoa, that was new.

Sabriel: Yeah, I know. I decided to give my writings a name. Kinda cliched though...

Teresa: I dunno, I've never heard "Otaku Inc." before.

Sabriel: Well, _that_ at least was original. Anywho-

Teresa: You love that word, don't you?

Sabriel: That is _my_ word! Do not dis the God of all continuing-or-changing-the-subject words, "Anywho"!

Teresa: o.O --starts backing away slowly-- Review readers or Sabs here may just blow her top.

Sabriel: Who says?

Teresa: --points at Sab-o-Meter, which is now showing a danger level equal to DefCon2--

Sabriel: Oh. I forgot that Anna and Trenity170 made me get that installed. Aw well. See y'all later now!

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- Buh-bye.


	2. Flashback

AbhorsenSabriel87: Well, that went well.

Teresa: Yeah, it was okay... considering you didn't even wait for people to review before typing this chappie.

Sabriel: Ah... heh heh. Oops. Actually, I'm only writing the AN Sectional right now. Everything else will wait until I get some reviewers... although responses will be postponed until I can make a chapter for them alone.

Teresa: You mean like a dedication page or one of those crappy Emmy(R) speeches?

Sabriel: No! Nothing like the Emmy(R)s or the Oscar(R)s! --looks around, petrified--

Teresa: o.O ...Riiight, Sabs. Calm down, okay?

Sabriel: --returns to composed form-- Okay, yeah, I got it. --sighs-- Anyway, yeah. It'll be like a dedication page to all of you dedicated readers! --sniggers--

Teresa: Lame play-on.

Sabriel: I know. On with the fic.

Teresa: Wait! Didn't you say that you were going to wait?

Sabriel: Meh, who cares? I sure as Hell don't, so let's move one already.

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---The four Spirit Detectives met up at Kurama's house at 5:00 sharp, except for a dark haired teen about Kurama's height who arrived only nine minutes late. He came running up with a bit of a goofy smile on his face (and a jean outfit over his well-toned frame) and explained, "Sorry about that, but I got a bit hung up as I was going out the door."

---"It's no problem at all Yusuke," Shiori replied, smiling in her motherly fashion. "We were waiting for Kazuma to finish changing before going anyway." A tall copper-haired teen much taller and lankier than the others shrugged, wearing a dress coat, navy slacks, and a white dress shirt. "I wanted to look good for a night out at the Tokyo theatre," he insisted.

---"That could take some work," Hiei retorted quietly, himself wearing the black dress tunic he had worn before when Koenma had summoned him a week prior. As Yusuke and Kurama (who wore and dark emerald green vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and black slacks) laughed silently at the minor insult, Kazuma glared at the shorter Detective as Shiori drove her new company car, an old fashioned but well taken care of convertable Camero, out of the garage and allowed the boys to climb into it. The small car was only meant to seat four, so Hiei sat between Yusuke and Kazuma on the back of the bench seat since he was the smallest and could most easily fit there. At precisely 5:14, the group left and drove out of the city that they had all resided in for at least the past three years.

---About two hours later, Shiori drove the group into the heart of Tokyo just in time to get good parking for the Shakspearean play that they were about to see,_ Romeo and Juliet_. According to Kurama, it was a play about a guy named Romeo Montague who fell in love with his father's enemy's daughter, Juliet Capulet. In the beginning, Romeo is a depressed person because another woman chose chastity over him (this Yusuke laughed at Romeo for), and in turn his friends Mercutio, a nephew of the reigning Prince of Verona (where we lay our scene), and Benvolio, a friend of the Montague house, try to cheer him up by taking him to a Capulet masquerade where he falls in love with Juliet. As he was about to explain more, Hiei told him to stop and allow them to watch the play before he gave away everything. So the five went into the theatre and waited for the 7:30 show to start.

---After the show, which in itself took just over two and a half hours, the group chatted merrily over the plot and some of the unexpected pieces that Yusuke and Kazuma didn't think would happen (as they had never seen a Shakspearean play before tonight) as well as their disappointment of a few of the character's deaths. At 10:12, the five went to the restraunt where they had reservations at 10:15 and ate a full Italian meal (all seven courses). When they finally left, the clock showed almost midnight and most of the traffic had long since died out as they headed home.

---"I'm glad you two enjoyed the play," Shiori called back to the two boys in the backseat. "It really is a great thing to see with friends and family, a play by William Shakespeare."

---"Yeah," Yusuke agreed. "I really like how they made it so realistic while acting over-dramatic. I mean, Mercutio has got to be the funniest character in the whole thing."

---"He kinda reminds me of you, Hiei," Kurama admitted, glancing back at his friend. Hiei cocked an eyebrow at him and answered, "I think it'd be best for me to ignore that comment, Benvolio." Yusuke and Kazuma laughed at his remark as Kurama rolled his eyes at them and turned his eyes to his mother. "Am I really that bad?" he pouted, giving his mother a pleading look. Shiori, smiling a bit at the very obvious fit of the character to her son, said nothing. Hiei noticed Yusuke and Kazuma laughing and added aloofly, "But hey, that's not as bad as Romeo and Tybalt here." He grinned in the direction of the two human boys next to him as they protested loudly at the accusation and the mother and son laughed in the front seat.

---"Putting that aside," Shiori proceeded, "how have your missions been going boys? I haven't heard much as of late."

---"That's because we haven't been getting much," Yusuke mentioned off-handishly. "For some reason, things have been really quiet right now according to the shrimp boat." Hiei shook his head at the nickname Yusuke had given Koenma, refusing to laugh. Yusuke looked off at the stars above them and sat up straight, gaping at them. "Whoa..." he murmured, causing Kurama, Hiei, and Kazuma to look up as well. "You can't see this many stars in the city," he observed.

---"Too much pollution and light," Kurama listed, "as well as all the clouds we get all the time." The red head looked over at Hiei and asked, "Can you see them this well in Makai, Hiei?" The fire demon trained his eyes heavenward and pondered the question before answering, "Better actually. There's no pollution or modern day devices to block the view. But here is fairly nice, too." Shiori smiled and glanced back at the boys as the convertable began to drive around the winding road the traced along the edge of a rather large ravine that could almost qualify as a small canyon because of its size. "Well, I'm glad to see you four can enjoy the simple things in life dispite what you do," she commented kindly.

---"It's _because_ we do what we do that we can enjoy things like this," Kazuma mused. Yusuke looked at the other human, an expression of mock-surprise on his seventeen-year-old face. "You being philosophical, Kuwabara?" he teased, sounding shocked. "Oh wow! Has Hell frozen over?" As Kurama and Hiei laughed at this, Kazuma reached over to bonk Yusuke on the head, but decided to let it go and just fume over it. Smiling and happy for the first time since his meeting with the Underworld Council, Hiei looked out over the ravine to the road as it wound its way through the valley. Puzzled at the prescence of other lights on the road (considering the time of night), he narrowed his eyes and tried to get a better look at the fast moving pair of lights. As the headlights pulled up ahead of the small car, he could tell three things; the headlights belonged to a truck at least twice as big as the Camero, it was going over the speed limit by quite a lot, and the driver must be drunk considering that it was neither slowing down nor keeping to one lane. Without much time to think, Hiei turned back to Shiori and shouted to pull the car to the side and stop. When she looked back at him, confused, he darted forward and forced the steering wheel to the left as Shiori noticed the truck and slammed on the brakes, giving Yusuke and Kuwabara only a second to grab onto whatever they could to prevent themselves from flying through the windsheild if their seatbelts snapped.

---The impact with the truck had the same force as if the car had hit a solid steel wall; the little car, having been hit on Kurama's front side hard, was sent backwards almost fifteen feet, five feet from the edge of the ravine. Both engines had stalled and the five in the Camero were in a daze. As Kurama shook himself out of it, he saw that because Hiei had leaned forward to jerk the wheel to the side (which was why all of them were still alive in the first place), the little demon had smashed headlong into the dashboard and now lay unconscious with his small body between the front seats. As he blinked to relieve his eyes of the "trauma dots" dancing before them, he saw that although Hiei was still breathing, it was shallow and he was bleeding over the carpeted interior and some of his blood stained the dashboard where he had hit. He looked over at his mother and gripped her shoulder gently, who seemed fine but had a little trouble breathing after slamming into the steering wheel, then looked into the backseat, asking hoarsely (as his seatbelt had knocked the wind out of him) if the other two were all right.

---"Fine back here," came Yusuke's own strained response. Kurama shifted his eyes to Kuwabara, who nodded as well. "We should call the hospital," Yusuke continued, unfastening his seatbelt so he could breathe easier. "Hiei took a big crack on the head, and who knows about the guys in the other car." The dark haired teen squinted at the truck, whose lights were still on, and got out of the battered Camero. "I'm gonna check on those guys," he said, closing the door and tossing Kurama his cellphone. "Call the hospital and the cops, 'kay?" When Kurama nodded and called up the operator, Yusuke walked over to the driver's side door of the truck and knocked on the window.

---"Operator, state your name and emergency," a female voice asked through the staticy connection as Kazuma also left his seat to check the passenger side of the truck. "My name is Suuichi Minamino," Kurama replied, trying to steady his voice. "My mother, my friends, and I were just in an accident on Southbound Route 7 outside Tokyo. One of my friends is badly injured and we need an ambulance and police."

---"All right, sir. Wait a few moments and we'll have what you need in a few minutes," the operator answered back. "Just hang on until then, okay?"

---"All right," Kurama muttered. "Thank you." As he hung up the phone, Yusuke pounded harder on the driver's window and shouted, "Hey! Anyone alive in there? Answer me if there-!" He was cut off by the door swinging open with enough force to send him flying into rock face and pinning his right arm at the shoulder. Kuwabara shouted at the driver as the passenger door opened and Kurama took off his seatbelt warily. Yusuke was shouting various curses at the driver and shoving the door, trying in vain to make the metal object release his arm, and a slender young woman got out of the passenger side, coming up behind Kazuma quietly. _Too quiet for a human_ Kurama thought suddenly, but before he could shout his warning to Kuwabara, Yusuke did instead, and the other teen turned around as the girl's hands became claws and she slashed at his unprotected neck. Only his fast reflexes managed to keep her from taking off his head completely, but she moved fast enough to still slice open his eyes in a spray of blood. Shiori screamed in terror as Kazuma doubled over, clutching his eyes to keep the pain at bay, shouting curses and trying to keep a good distance from his attacker on the narrow road without seeing where he was going.

---Instantly, Kurama jumped out of the car and summoned his Rose Whip to his hand, cracking it at the woman, who (unfortunately) dodged the assult as Yusuke yelped loudly, his shoulder making a sick cracking sound and sending his arm completely limp. The door pulled away and Yusuke dropped to the ground, clutching his shoulder and biting his lip to stifle a scream of pain. The woman, her short pale green hair mussed about her elfin face, grinned wickedly at the incapacited Spirit Detectives, keeping a wary sapphire gaze on Kurama, who walked around the front of the Camero to protect the two within it. "Mother," he murmured softy, never taking his eyes from his enemy, "please take Hiei and Kazuma and get to a safer location. Run, please, we'll handle this."

---Afraid for her boy but respecting of his wishes, Shiori nodded and tried to unbuckle her seatbelt but found it locked shut. Trying her hardest to get it unlatched, she could only watch as her little Suuichi helped Yusuke to his feet and drew a second seed from his hair, his whip flicking slightly from side to side. The woman before them smirked darkly and rushed at Yusuke, narrowly missing Kurama's whip cracks as the driver stepped from the truck and grabbed the thorned rope out of the air. A gasp escaped Shiori's lips as she gazed upon the new threat; a man so large it made Arnold Schwartzanegger look like a skrawny nerd about Hiei's height. As Kurama tried in vain to free his whip, the man smirked and yanked hard on it, bringing the kitsune flying towards him as Yusuke aimed a Spirit gun at him and fired, cutting through the whip before it could take his ally any further. But as Kurama's feet touched the ground, the woman kicked him hard, sending him into the rock face and causing a few chuncks of rock to fly from the wall, one hitting Yusuke's forhead hard. As the teen cursed and attempted to get the dirt out of his eyes with his able hand, Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword and slashed at the woman with trained psychic sight. The slash caufgt the woman off-guard and cut deep into her arm as Kurama pulled himself from the rock and threw something at her. Whether it hit her or not no one could tell as the giant backhanded Kazuma into Yusuke hard enough to send them flying through the Camero's windsheild and off the trunk. Shiori spun around to see if they're all right, still struggling with the seatbelt. The two don't reappear into her line of sight.

---The woman cried out in suprise and Shiori turns back to see that the girl had green vines twining over her body and quickly spreading. She glanced at her son and stared; the look upon his face was one that she had never seen, one of hatred and resolution. "You've attempted to kill my friends, my mother, and me," he accused, his eyes flashing a frightening gold in his rage. "Now you shall taste your own medicine. _Farewell_." At the last word, the vines burst out at an alarming rate and the woman fell to the ground, never to rise again. Enraged by his accomplice's fall, the other rushed at Kurama and grabbed him by the jaw, lifting him into the air (no matter how hard the kitsune struggled) and slammed him hard into the asphalt.

---"Suuichi!" his mother shouted, still trying desperately to unlatch the stuck belt in her panic. The shout caused the formerly unconscious demon next to her to stir and lift himself onto his hamds and knees, blood dripping down his face from his head wound and his eyes slightly unfocused. "What...?" he started, trying to concentrate on _anything_ but the peircing pain running through his skull and neck.

---"Hiei! You're awake!" Shiori exclaimed, helping the fire demon to his feet. "Suuichi, Yusuke and Kazuma have been attacked! Please help them!" Startled by her words, he raised his eyes to Kurama, whose hands were still trying desperately to tear the behemoth away from his throat and breathe. Hiei reached back to grasp his sword but found only empty air. _On the one day I decide not to bring it,_ he thought moodily through the fog in his mind. He didn't have time to move from his position when the giant demon threw Kurama into the front end of the Camero hard enough to make it roll a few inches further back. When her son didn't rise from the ground, Shiori sobbed out his name and Hiei's garnet eyes flashed in bloodlust. As fast as he could with his injury and depleted strength, he jumped out of the car and drew a dagger from the lining of his tunic, slashing the giant demon's arm open and standing away from Kurama so not to harm him further.

---As predicted, the demon turned from Kurama (whose red hair was now stained darker from his own head wound) and set himself on the small fire demon, at best only a third of the demon's height. With a yell of rage, the giant rushed at Hiei, swinging his fists the size of boulders in hopes of knocking the smaller off the cliff. But, although handicapped, Hiei avoided his swings and ducked beneath him, slashing through the brute's stomach. Shockingly, the demon seemed unaffected and turned switfly, snatching the smaller up in his heavily muscled right arm, clenching his fist tightly. Hiei stifled a yelp of pain as he heard and felt his left arm and ribs cracking and breaking beneath the enormus pressure. Taking the first shot he saw without any regard to the sanity of any still conscious nearby, he glared darkly at the giant creature, eyes flashing dark violet before he plunged the dagger into the demon's forehead.

---As expected, the demon dropped him to the ground instantly and swayed backwards away from the battered fire appiration. Hiei stood slowly and looked at Kurama, listening for the sirens that should have been coming if anyone had called for an ambulance or the police, then turned to Shiori, his eyes returning to their normal ruby hue. Before he could say anything however, Shiori shouted in warning and he spun around in time to be hit in the chest and sent rocketing back against the Camero. He cried out in pain as he felt not only the vent of the sports car but his lower back shatter and fell to the ground, darkness trying to once more force its way upon him. Distantly, he heard Mrs. Minamino shouting and gravel and bones crunching, and turned his head towards the car...

---...Just as it started falling into the ravine. Trying to ignore the searing pain all over his body, the small demon tried to rise and help Shiori, who he saw was still in the car, but could only catch her terrified look as the car fell out of view and the distant wail of sirens touched his acute hearing. "Shiori..." he whispered, trying to move at all in his fear for her safety. Somewhere behind him, he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground and something slipping off the road. When he looked, the two demons attackers were gone with no explanation and darkness fell on him again, painful and tormenting.

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Sabriel: Yeah yeah, it's shorter than the other one, but I just don't wanna write anymore until I get some reviews or flames... which I undoubtedly be getting from Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, and the rare Kuwabara fan girls.

Teresa: ..._What_ Kuwabara fan girls?

Sabriel: You'd be suprised. --shudders-- Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it, angst readers, and to anyone who hates it, I really don't care all that much because I'm writing it for Teresa's enjoyment alone.

Teresa: ...And you need a place to put your freaky little OC.

Sabriel: Shuddup you. I'm already writing two fics for you; don't make me delete them.

Teresa: Why don't you have the readers decide whether or not you should delete them.

Sabriel: ...Whatever. Review please. I so badly need exposure. Also, read Trenity170's fics. They're pretty damn good, even a reviewer named Hiei666 says so, and she's supposed to be a really good writer herself.

Teresa: I thought we weren't going to do-

Sabriel: WE'RE NOT! I'm just giving Tren the exposure she needs _if_ she needs it.

Teresa: --sighs-- Hurry and write the next chapter.

Sabriel: Once I get at least one honest review that's not something like "I love it! Please write more!" Ugh. I need **_real_** reviews and crits people! Tell me what's wrong with the damn thing and don't be shy about it!

Teresa: Besides the fact that you've- --gets "spoiler" sticker slapped over mouth-- Mmm!

Sabriel: Don't give it away, dumbass. C'ya readers, if there are any of you out there anymore.


	3. Awakening

AbhorsenSabriel87: Hello all ye readers/reviewers. Well, aren't we just so proud of ourselves?  
Teresa: --sighs-- Here we go again...  
Sabriel: Honestly, you are some of the best reviewers/readers I've had in all my years of writing. It's, it's truly amazing.  
Teresa: Sabs, don't start something you can't fix...  
Sabriel: --glares darkly at her, dropping her sarcasm-- I already have. It's called all of my bloody fics.  
Teresa: --sighs again--  
Sabriel: And by the way, you all want a damn disclaimer, go read the first chapter! I'm not doing another one, damnit!  
Teresa: You're hopeless. Let's just do the response and get it over with, okay?  
Sabriel: Feh. I'm doing a response page later, remember?  
Teresa: Oh yeah...  
Sabriel: And now I can write my damn fic and get it out of my system. --grumbles darkly--

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---The sounds Yusuke Urameshi awoke to were very few; a steady beeping, someone breathing, and shoes padding on the floor. Even with his eyes closed, he realized that he was probably in the hospital. _Too little too late_ he thought bitterly, but for some reason he felt groggy and weak, not like he usually did after a fight. He opened his eyes and blinked, trying to see more clearly. What he did in fact see was the salt-and-pepper design of the hospital ceiling. Blinking again against the light coming from his left, he turned his head to see a window open on his left with daylight streaming through it and a young woman sleeping in a chair next to his bed.

---The woman had short brown hair going only about halfway to her shoulders and pale skin. She looked like she had been called out of bed and thrown on whatever was closest, that being a pair of wrinkled jeans and a white T-shirt. A hospital blanket was wrapped tightly over her shoulders and her slender frame was pulled up tight in the chair. Still tired as Hell, Yusuke blinked a few more times to stay awake when the door opened and a woman in her early thirties walked in.

---"Keiko, I brought you something to eat," the new young woman said, closing the door behind her. When she noticed Keiko asleep, her sentence had drifted off and she placed the bento boxes she had been carrying on the table. As she walked over to the girl, she glanced at Yusuke, who looked back up at her in a confused manner. An expression of shock flew onto her face and the woman cried out, "Yusuke! My baby, you're awake!" Now crying uncontrollably, she ran her hands over his face and kissed his forehead, sobbing something incoherent. _It's okay Mom_ Yusuke thought, reaching up his left hand to hold onto hers, although loosely. _I'm okay; it's not the end of the world._ The woman grabbed his hand and held it tightly, dropping to the floor with tears running rampant down her face.

---The other girl in the chair stirred and gave a questioning sound as most people do when they awaken from a disturbed sleep. "Atsuko?" she sighed, sitting up and looking down at the woman. "What on Earth...?" She cut herself off as she looked at the Reikai Tentai's face, looking at her weakly and tiredly, but smiling and awake. "Yusuke..." she breathed, tears coming to her eyes. "Oh thank Enma you woke up." She struggled to keep the tears from falling as she stared at him with a regretful look on her face. Confused, Yusuke was about to ask her about it when the door opened again, this time being a nurse with silvery-blonde hair and golden toned eyes wearing the nurse's uniform over black jeans and boots. She looked over at the two women, then glanced at Yusuke.

---"Well, you _are_ resilient, I'll give you that much Mr. Urameshi," she stated, picking up the chart at the foot of his bed and looking over it. "You and your friends were lucky to have survived. I'm afraid I have some bad news though." His head feeling thick and tired, Yusuke gave the nurse a quizzical look and tried to ask what was wrong... but the words didn't seem to come out of his mouth. Coughing slightly to clear his throat, he tried to ask again, but again nothing came out. His mother looked up at the nurse in terror and sobbed, "No, this can't be. Didn't enough happen to him already! He's never going to be the same as it is!" Now thoroughly bewildered and worried (and starting to get angry), he once again tried to ask _What the Hell is wrong with me!_

---"I'm afraid we have bad news," the nurse repeated. "As it stands, you have been unconscious for over six days since the accident. Your right arm was completely shattered and crushed, and glass shards had cut through a lot of your neck. We had a hell of a time getting you to live, but you're life I'm afraid won't be as it was before."

---"Just tell him what you did!" Keiko shouted, still trying to hold back tears. The nurse sighed and looked at Yusuke gravely with her gold eyes.

---"We had to put you into surgery to save your life," she continued softly. "We had to remove the glass shards from your neck and throat, which is a very delicate procedure. Unfortunately, it has potential problems, which apparently you have contracted. The procedure can make one lose his ability to speak, and I'm sorry to say that it's permanent." She paused for a moment, as if debating to speak again when Atsuko yelled at her again, "Tell him everything!" In this moment, Keiko's tears flowed freely down her face and she fled from the room with her face in her hands. Now even more concerned, the disabled detective looked up at the nurse in confusion.

---"We... in its state when you arrived, your arm was inoperable," she continued softly. "If we had left it the way it was, you might not have survived and would have been in immense pain if you did." She looked in Yusuke's eyes, sadness running through them genuinely. An uncontrollable feeling of fear crept up and grasped Yusuke's heart, and his inquisitively scared look gave the nurse all the motivation she needed to finish. "I'm sorry, but to save your life, we had to remove your right arm." His mother beside him burst out in a fresh wave of tears, but Yusuke could barely hear her as the realization hit him and sunk in. The nurse left the room quickly; neither of them even noticed. Anguish and depression hit hard, and within moments the once fabled "fearless Spirit Detective" had tears coursing over his cheeks and cried screams of anguish. But, of course, no one could hear them.

---Nor would anyone ever hear his cheery and confident voice again.

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---When Kazuma awoke, he had no idea where he was. He could hear machines beside him, as well as a quiet young woman's voice. "When will he wake up miss?" the voice asked timidly, voice laced with sorrow and worry. _Yukina?_ he thought and he tried to open his eyes. When he realized that they were covered by something like bandages, he called over quietly, "Yukina? Is that you?" His voice sounded hoarse and quiet from disuse, but he heard her run over to his side, something clicking like crystal marbles as she did, and she grasped his right hand. "Kazuma?" she asked, placing a cool hand on the side of his face. "I'm so sorry. If I had been here sooner..."

---"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to sit up but realizing almost instantly that it hurt to move his body at all, and even if he could he was far too weak. He heard the sound of a second pair of feet walking over and another woman spoke, equally as quiet as the first, but different. "Mr. Kuwabara, I'm afraid we-"

---The sound of the door clicking open reached his ears and instinctively he turned his head to see who it was, forgetting about the bandages over his eyes. The light scent of formaldehyde and morphine drifted in, and someone else walked in. "Kazuma, you're awake?" the voice asked, also a woman's but older. Her voice seemed worried as she walked over to the side of the bed and sat on the edge. "Hey Shizuru," he said softly. "What's going on? Where are we?"

---"The hospital," the voice replied quietly. "I'm so glad you're okay otooto-kun."

---The unknown woman's voice coughed, as if she was trying to get the attention subtly back to her. "I'm sorry I have to tell you this," she said quietly, her voice touched with tears and almost as heavenly as the girl's whom held his hand tightly, "but you'll never be able to see anyone again." Kazuma smiled and joked quietly, "You're not telling me I have a few days to live, are you?" The ominous silence that met his words removed that smile quickly. "What? What is it?" he inquired again.

---"I'm sorry Mr. Kuwabara, but I wasn't kidding," the voice continued quietly. "You've been unconscious for almost eight days. We have to run a series of check-ups to make sure that your body isn't rejecting the blood transfusion we gave you and that your surgery wounds are healing. Those are minor. But I'm afraid that your eyes are a different matter." A choked sob reached his ears from next to him and the hands the gripped his right tightened. He himself suddenly realized what the other woman meant and leaned his head back, trying to keep at bay his own tears. "We tried to help, but your eyes were just too badly damaged." The voice stopped for a moment and took a heavy sigh, as if she didn't want to continue with the terrible news.

---"I'm blind, aren't I?" Kazuma asked, knowing and fearing the answer at the same time. There was a pause and a sigh came from the foot of his bed, roughly where his sister sat. "I'm afraid so," the doctor/nurse replied gravely. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do." The door clicked shut and the Reikai Tentai let the tears fall, trying to comfort the girl at his side as he heard slight ringing noises as something like crystal hit the floor repeatedly.

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---When Kurama awoke, he was surprised to see white all around him and heard nothing at all. His head throbbed with dulled pain, as did most of his body. Not about to let it stop him, he carefully sat up in his bed and looked around him. It was pretty definite that he was in a hospital; white walls surrounded him, white linoleum covered the floor, an IV catch rested on the forefinger of his left hand, and various machines had seemingly random flickers of light and lines moving across them. He'd seen this before when his mother was in the hospital two years ago, when he'd committed his first crime as Suichi Minamino and met Yusuke. Struck by a sudden bout of dizziness, he fell back against the headboard and waited for someone to come in. He didn't seem too badly injured; his demonic healing had taken care of that. So why was he still here? Why hadn't his mother taken him home?

---Only a flicker of movement from the door alerted him that someone had entered the room. When he looked over, he spied a young nurse of about his own age with platinum blonde hair. She closed the door behind her and kept looking at a chart in her hand until she came within a few feet of his bed, when she suddenly looked up and smiled pseudo-cheerily. Kurama immediately sensed that she was a demon, but not a threat. She put down the clipboard and used American Sign Language (ASL) to ask him, _How are you feeling, Minamino-san?_

---Surprised, but not unknowing of the language, he responded _As well as can be expected. I am a little tired and disoriented, but I'll be fine._ He thought to himself _She must be deaf. But why is she a nurse if..._ He suddenly remembered his mother and started to ask if she was all right when the door opened again, revealing a male doctor in his late thirties or so with sandy brown hair. He looked up at Kurama, then looked over at the woman and seemed to lip sync something. Kurama furrowed his brow; why didn't he just ask her if she could read lips? Why go to the trouble of making sure he couldn't hear what he was saying?

---The girl shook her head, then looked back to Kurama and signed _Do you remember what happened to you or where you are?_ Kurama nodded and responded _I was in an accident just outside of Tokyo. I'm guessing I'm in a hospital._ The woman nodded and seemed to translate for the other physician. Once again, Kurama became confused. What the Hell was going on? Why couldn't he hear them?

---The doctor began to speak, but Kurama kept his eyes on the girl's own gold ones, as she was the one he could understand.

_---I'm afraid I have some bad news_ she signed, locking her eyes with his as she "spoke". _You've been asleep for eleven days. The crash injured your brain's main control center where orders are sent to your nerves to move your muscles and allow your senses to work properly. By the time we started surgery on it in an attempt to save your life, it had already started to shut down permanently. We weren't sure at first exactly what had been shut down, but now we realize_-

_---I'm deaf, aren't I?_ Kurama signed back in despair. _Where is my mother? Have you told her?_ The nurse looked startled and quickly turned to the doctor, translating for him. A pained look settled on her face as the doctor looked at Kurama gravely. He started to speak again, but Kurama couldn't understand him. He turned to the girl, but she seemed unsure about whether or not to translate. The doctor glared at her and appeared to chastise her, then returned his gaze to Kurama as she signed what he said.

_---I'm afraid there's a problem with us doing so. Your mother didn't make it to the hospital. She died on the way here._ Kurama couldn't believe his eyes. His mother? Dead? No, that couldn't be. This had to be a nightmare. He looked away from the two and stared at the floor in shock. _She's not dead. She can't be dead. She's all I have! She cannot be dead!_ He squeezed his eyes shut to fight back the tears that threatened to fall when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

---Instinctively, he shoved the person away as hard as he could and punched his right hand into the wall again and again. _She can't be dead! Wake up! God damnit body wake up! This isn't real!_ As he felt strong hands grab his arms and force him back onto the bed, he fought with all his diminishing strength, opening his eyes and looking wildly around for escape. Two twenty-or-so year old male nurses hand grabbed his shoulders and forced him down, and were now trying to keep him still as the doctor filled a syringe with a clear liquid. Panic gripping his features, he struggled harder in an attempt to get away from the doctor with the shot. With no such luck, he saw the doctor moving towards the IV and sticking the needle into the line. Panicking, Kurama ripped the clasp off his hand and tried again to get out of the bed and leave. The doctor seemed to curse and shout to someone else when the blonde woman came forward and shoved hard on Kurama's chest, pushing him hard into the bed on his solar plexus and making his lose his breath. In the short second that he had, the doctor shoved the needle into Kurama's arm and injected the drug, jerking the needle out as soon as he'd finished. Sleeping fog drifted into Kurama's view and instantly he felt his body going limp with exhaustion.

---The final thing he saw before his body completely failed him was the blonde nurse doing the sign for _I'm sorry._ Tears came into his eyes as the realization hit him that this wasn't a dream, and they fell as his eyes shut once more in dreamless, drug-induced sleep.

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_---Hn? Where am I?_ Hiei opened his eyes slowly to see a blurred ceiling above him, as well as a few machines, wires, and tubes out of his peripheral vision. He blinked to clear away the blur and noticed the lines and blips on one of the machines seemed to be matching with his heartbeat. _Oh, that's right, the hospital_ he thought distantly. _The ambulance must've gotten to me before death did. Figures..._ He tried to sit up, but realized that he couldn't; he was being restrained by something. He tilted his head to look down at whatever was restraining him, but searing pain shot through his neck and head as he did so. Deciding that perhaps this was not the best course of action, the fire demon laid his head back against the pillow and fumed. _If Koenma hadn't been so stupid to take away most of my power, I'd be out of here by now... Speaking of which, how long have I been in here?_ He looked around at the area as best as he could, but couldn't tell anything about the date other than it was dusk. Sighing, he returned his garnet eyes to the ceiling and thought about the circumstances as clearly as he could.

_---We were in an accident and attacked_ he thought._ Yusuke's arm was shattered; Kazuma's probably blind... Kurama! Shiori! What about them? I have to know if they're all right._ This time, he moved his hand to the clasps (as they were obviously designed to hold someone about twice his size) and slowly began loosening them. When he'd gotten the ones around his arms and shoulders off, he looked over his arms. They had been bandaged again, although he could still see the lower part of the Kokuryuuha mark on his right and his left had been put in a cast, probably from being crushed by the demon that attacked them. Carefully, he reached over and touched his neck, wincing slightly at the pain. It had been bound and well cared for, as had the wound on his head he noticed, but it still hurt like bloody Hell. _At least I didn't break my neck_ he thought, putting his hands back in his lap and moving his head enough to look out the window. _I can still move. It'll heal soon enough._ Something clicked in the direction of the door and slowly he turned his head to see who had entered the room.

---She stood roughly five foot four or so and bright copper curls pulled back in a ponytail reached her slender waist. Her small frame hid itself behind the nurse's uniform and that lay over a long white skirt and a white blouse. Sapphire blue eyes glanced down at the clipboard as she closed the door quietly behind her, then looked up at him. "Well, it's good to know you're awake, sir," she said softly, her voice light and sweet as an angel's. "Your friends and all of us were quite worried about you." She walked over to the machines and wrote down a few things, then looked back at Hiei. "Not a very talkative person, are you?" she asked. "Well, that's all right. I just need to know your last name, Mr. Hiei."

---"It's just Hiei," he whispered quietly. He coughed to clear his throat and looked up at her again. "How long... have I been in here?" The slight smile fell from the nurse's face and she looked back at her clipboard. "You arrived here twelve days ago," she replied softly. "You've been unconscious since then, and twice we've had to have you restrained because of violent spasms during you REM stages of dreaming." Hiei inwardly cringed; that hadn't happened before... at least, not very often. "What about the others?" he asked hoarsely. "What about Shiori and Suiichi? Are they all right?"

---"Your friend Suiichi woke yesterday and is now sleeping. The other two boys are at the moment having follow-up surgery, in case we missed something. But, Mrs. Minamino I'm afraid..." She looked away, tears forming in her eyes as she tried her hardest to deliver the painful news. But Hiei could already guess; trapped in a car that had fallen off the edge of a ravine, she had had very little chance of survival as far as he could see it. Still, for some reason it was heart wrenching to hear. "She died. I understand." He sighed and continued softly, "How did Suiichi take the news."

---"I was not there to witness," she sighed, turning back to her duty of completing the charts, "but I heard that he... did not take it well."

---"Why can't I move?" Hiei asked suddenly. "I can move my arms, so I know my neck wasn't broken." The nurse looked back at him with a genuinely surprised look and nodded, the slight smile returning to her naturally tan face, as if relieved that someone was smart enough to know the symptoms and possible outcomes of certain injuries. "Your neck was fractured slightly, but no permanent damage had been done to it or your skull, which had received hairline fractures. Enough for surgery and a neurologist, but nothing to worry about. The medication we had you on originally your body rejected, so we don't have you on anything at the moment." Hiei nodded as best as he could without sending his neck into searing pain. "Your neck should be finished healing soon and you'll be able to sit up without it hurting so much."

---"When can I leave?" he asked bluntly, hoping the answer would be something along the lines of "soon". But the nurse looked back at him, the serious look returning to her face. "I don't know," she replied. "Not for another twelve weeks, at least."

---"Three months?" he replied, startled. "I thought you said I wasn't that injured!" He attempted to sit up, but piercing pain shot into his lower back and neck and he fell back again onto the bed. Oddly, the pain didn't course through his legs like it did his arms. As a matter of fact, he couldn't feel anything in his legs at all. "My legs," he muttered, stark fear crossing his face as he looked down at them, unmoving. "I can't feel my..." Overcome with shock, the fire Koorime's vision was clouded by black as the nurse called for a doctor. He'd passed out as he realized that he couldn't move his legs.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Sabriel: Well, that's it for now. I'm done. --attempts to warm up fingers ('cuz she sits in her basement to type these and her basement is fucking cold all the time) and turns down _Evanescence _music--  
Teresa: How could you have been so cruel!  
Sabriel: --looks over, rather bored--  
Teresa: They didn't deserve that! Especially not Kurama!  
Sabriel: Hn. The fox-boy going deaf isn't enough to get him truly hopeless. Neither is Yusuke losing his voice or Kazuma having to stay for extensive surgery. I noticed you said nothing about either of them.  
Teresa: Well, they're important too, but Kurama's hurt most by it!  
Sabriel: Really? Let's think about this for a second; Yusuke, whose greatest form of enjoyment is fighting with people whether physically or verbally, lost his right arm and voice, and Kuwabara, who also loves to be active and enjoys looking upon Yukina's face, is now bedridden for a long while and can never see Yukina's face again. True, Kurama will never be able to see his mother alive again or ever hear her voice-  
Teresa: But then again he can't hear anything now anyway, not even his favorite music! And what about Hiei, ne! I thought he was your favorite character!  
Sabriel: --glares darkly at her-- I don't play favorites in angst stories. In case you haven't noticed, Hiei's whole life in his eyes revolves around him being able to move. Stop bothering me about this; you've known this was going to happen since day 1.  
Teresa: --goes silent--  
Sabriel: Readers who have gotten this far, I commend you for your strength and ask that, if you want to, please wait for the next chapter as patiently as possible. In the meantime, I would really like some flames scorning me on my treatment of everyone's favorite Reikai Tentai. Reviews are nice, but flames will due, considering the theme of the story. Until next time readers.


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